Fastening device.



-rJrnTED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT A. WHITESIDE, OF BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB 0F ONE-HALF T0 ALEXANDER M.

NEEPEB., 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

EASTENING DEVICE.

' Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led September 29, 1914. Serial No. 8.645079.`

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. WHITESIDE, a citizen of the United States, residin in Beaver Falls, county of Beaver, and tate of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fastening Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fastening devices made from elastic, ductile material.` I

Among the principal objects ofthis invention are the following: to produce a fastening device which when driven, by the action of being driven, automatically clenches itself on material fastened therebysaid device being provided with means which control the extent of the bending of its parts to effectuate its clenching. My invention consists of a fastening device made of elastic, ductile material, hereinafter described, and the means embodied therein for the purpose of facilitating and Acontrolling the performance of its functions.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank used to make the fastening device; Fig. 2 is an edge view thereof; Figs. 3, 4, 5, illustrate forms of the modification of the cross-section of blank shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 6 and 7 are views of washers used in connection with the fastening de vice; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the fastening device inserted in an object before the same is driven and clenched; Fig. 9 is a view of the device driven and clenched through objects to be fastened thereby; Fig. 10 is an end view of the blank shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 11 is a cross-section of Fig. 8 on section throughout.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a bar of elastic, ductile material, for example of steel, having grooves 1` and 2 in one side thereof and grooves 3 and 4 in the opposite side thereof, and having rounded edges 5 5, as shown in Fig. 10, although said blank may be used with square edges. The groovesl, 2, 3 and 4 of Fig. 1 are made therein for the purpose of controlling and facilitating the bending of the ends of the fastening device as hereinafter described. Said grooves or displacement or modification of the distribution of the material ofA bar 1, or the equivalent thereof, are means by which the bending of the ends of the fastening device is controlled so as to clench the same as hereinafter described. Said grooves may be substituted by a distinct ben in bar 1, made by a die or forglng press, as shown at 7 in Fig. 32 or by a bulge shown by the striking of a blunt instrument at 8 in Fig. 5, lor by a. shallow groove 9 as shown in Fig.` 4. Any manipuextend parts 11 and 12, which are parallel Patented Nov. 7, 1916. y

for the reater part of their lengths and are hereina ter referred to as inner parallel members of the fastening device described herein. Said bar 1 is bent at 13 and 14 Fig. 8, and those parts of bar 1, 15 and 16, eX- tendin from bends 13 and 14 to the ends of sai bar 1, form the remaining members of the fastening device which are hereinafter referred to as outer terminal members. Said outer terminal membersl and 16 are bent respectively at bends 17 and 18, so as to form therein outwardly extending parts 19 and 20. Bends 17 and 21 and 18 and 22, respectively, are connected by parts 19 and 20, respectively. Bends 23 and 24 are formed as shown in Fig. 8 between bends 21 and 22 and ends 25 and 26 of bar 1.

Bends 17 and 18 and connecting par-ts 19 and 20 of outer terminal members 15 and 16, respectively, or their equivalents, are 'essential as forming the means of preventing the fastenin device from passing through the perforation into which it is inserted, when it is driven for the purpose of spreading its ends, terminating in bends 13 and 14. Bends which said fastening device is driven for the purpose of fastening them together.

Fig. 11 is a cross-section to Fig. 8 on section line I--I and shows the outer terminal ligure as a circular washer, Which may be of any convenient shape provided it has a rectangular hole 31.

In Fig. 8, 32 is an object into which the fastening device may be inserted and driven, which has a perforation 33. It may be a single object, or for the purpose of description and claiming my present invention may consist of three separate objects 32', 32', 32', each of these objects may be of metal or wood or elastic material of different degrees of resiliency and semi-plasticity.

34 is a washer which may be of the shape of washer '28 or washer 30. 35 is a like washer, each provided wi-th a substantially rectangular perforation.

`When bar 1 has been bent as hereinbefore described so that the fastening device is of the form shown in Fig. 8, grooves 1', 2, 3 and 4 are substantially in the position with reference to objects 32 and washers 34 and 35, if washers be used, as shown in Fig. 8, when said fastening device is inserted in the perforation of said washers and objects before the same is driven for the purpose of spreading its ends, terminating in bends 13 and 14 and clenching said device in the driven position.

36, 36, etc., are punch marks or marks of any convenient form placed on the edge of bar 1, as shown in Fig. 8. rlhese marks furnish a guide for driving the inner parallel members of the fastening device, when used in connection with an imaginary line in a plane passing through the top edges of ends 25 and 26 of bar 1, said line being dotted in Fig. 9 and marked 37.

Fig. 9 shows the relative position of all of the parts hereinbefore referred to of said fastening device when the same has been driven.

The fastening device having been inserted in the object or objects into which it is driven, and through the washers, if washers are used, as shown in Fig. 8, the inner parallel members thereof are driven by force applied to semi-circular part 10, and the outer terminal members are held at 17 and 18 on top of 34 while said force is being applied. The result of the movement of the inner parallel members responding to said applied force is that both the inner parallel members and outer terminal members are bent so as to separate from each 1 other, as shown in Fig. 9, and' to form an obtuse angle 38. The grooves 3 and 4 locating themselves substantially at the under surface of washer 35and the grooves 1' and 2 facilitating and magnifying the flexure of said parts along substantially radial lines extending from the inner lower edges of the opening in washer 35 through substantially the central points of said grooves 1', 2, 3 and 4. The result of the spreading of the members of the fastening device is that the object or objects yinto which the same is driven are held firmly between the top sides of the lspread and protruding members of the device and the bottom sides of' parts 19 and 20 of the outer terminal members of the device.

Before the fastening device is driven, members 11 and 12 are slightly inclined to members 15 and 16, respectively, as shown in Fig. 8. `When the fastening device is driven parts of members 11 and 12 and 15 and 16 are forced into contact with each other as shown in Fig. 9, and those parts of members l1 and 12 connected by semicircular part l0, which are located between the extremities of semi-circular part 10 and the parallel parts of 11 and 12, are inclined to one another and act as a wedge between bends 23 and 24, separating'and bringing into tension those parts of the outer 'terminal members between connecting parts 19 and20 and ends 25 and 26 thereof. The wedge thus formed by parts of members 11 and 12, the protruding ends of 11 and 12 and 15 and 16 driven through the object to be fastened, and the ends of 15 and 16 between 19 and 25 and 20 and 26 respectively,

coperate to form an elastic fastening which can be advantageously used in many mechanical operations.

The device may be removed after having l been driven, and after having been straightened to a substantially normal form may be again driven with the similar results as to the spread and protruding ends thereof until the fiber of the material thereof breaks down.

While grooves l', 2, 3 and 4 facilitate and to a large degree control the spreading of the ends of the fastening device, a fastening device made without said grooves or their equivalents for such control and facilitation of bending, will, when driven, automatically spread its ends in a similar manner to that of a fastening device furnished with said grooves or their equivalents, but possibly to a less degree of bending; such device Would be of the form of the device shown in Fig. 8, the grooves 1', 2, 3 and 4 being absent therefrom and the cross-section of bar 1 in such device being the same throughout its entire length.

While I have shown the means for facilif wish to be limited in my claims or the scope according to my invention and in said fastening devices themselves. If, for example, additional grooves were made between 1 and 13 and 2 and 14 and between 13 and 3 and between 14 and 4, if a sufficient number were used, the protruding driven ends ofthe fastening device when driven would assume. a position parallel to the bottom of 32, or if a suiicient number of grooves were placed in such position, would assume a semi-circular shape with the bends 13 with the bottom of 32. I, therefore, do not of my invention to the usel of the four grooves specially numbered on the drawing or their equivalents, but to be privileged to use as many grooves or their equivalents as the special use or application of my invention from time to time may require.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A fastening device bent medially to form parallel members and said `parallel members then bent back on themselves t0 form approximately outer members, said inner and outer members being weakened on their outer sides at approximately corresponding pointsl intermediate their ends to define bending points.

2. A fastening device bent medially to ,form approximately parallel members connected at one end by a semi-circular bend and said parallel members then bent back upon themselves to form approximately parallel inner and outer members, said inner and outer members being weakened at approximately corresponding points interim-'s diate their ends to define bending pomts.;-

said outer members being bent approximately at their ends to formoutwardly extending bends therein. l

3. A fastening device bent medially and then bent back upon itself to form therein approximately parallel inner members and outer. terminal members, the parallel parts of which, adjacent to the bends connecting Y them, constitute the spreading ends of said device, said outer'and inner members being formed, at approximately corresponding for control-y points intermediate their ends,

and 14 in contactparallel inner and ling and facilitating the spreading of said spreading ends, n e

4. A fastening device bent medially and thenbent back upon itselfto .form therein approximately parallel inner members andouter terminal members, the parallel parts of which, adjacent to the bends connecting them, constitute the spreading ends of said device, said outer and inner members being formed, at approximately corresponding points intermediate their ends, for controlling and facilitating the spreading of said spreading ends, said outer terminal members being provided, approximately at their ends, with means integral therewith for preventing said deviceA from passing through objects into which said device is driven.

5. A fastening device bent medially to form a semi-circular bend at its medial part, and members inclined in part and parallel in part; said members being bent back upon themselves to form inner and outer members, said outer members being inclined, said outer members bent approximately at their ends to form outwardly extending parts therein; said outer and inner members being weakened at approximately lcorresponding points intermedate their ends to define bendv ing points.

6. A fastening device bent medially and again bent back upon itself and again bent adjacent to each of its ends `so as to form' therein (a) a semi-circular bend; (b) inner members consisting of that part thereof between the ends of said semi-circular bend and the bends at the point at'which said device is bent back upon itself; (c) outer members consistingv of the remainder of said device between said last mentioned bends and the ends thereof; and (d) bends in said outer members adjacent to their respective ends; said inner and outer members being weakened on their outer sides at approximately corresponding points intermediate their ends to deiine bending points of they connected ends of said inner and outer members.

vIn witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my. name in 'the' presence of two subscribing witnesses.

^ ROBERT A. WHITESIDE.'

Witnesses: l Y l A. M. NEEPER, JAMES F. CALLAHAN. 

